1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to field of tire technology, more specifically, to a tire rotation system that allows for automatic balancing of the tire without the necessity of placing additional weights on the tire to keep it in balance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The history of the wheel dates back almost six thousand years to approximately 3500 BC. However, even though the wheel has been around for centuries, the invention of the tire came thousands of years later. Over the course of time, the majority of wheels had been made of wood which guaranteed a rough ride and poor construction and maintenance to go along with it.
The evolution of the wheel was very simple. The wheel was constructed of a solid, curved piece of wood, then leather was eventually added to soften the ride. As time progressed, it became solid rubber which lead to today's tires, the pneumatic or air inflated, radial tire.
Early wheels were made of metal or wood but were not very durable and provided very little comfort in their ride. The first type of tire was really just a metal loop. There were many individuals that made contributions in creating the tire that we have today. The tires we have in today's society are much more durable, flexible and more reliable that the tires from just fifty years ago. More importantly, today's tires are far more comfortable than the old wood and metal hoop type wheels that came before the modern tire.
Rubber as a foundation of the tire has evolved significantly since its start. Early rubber did not hold shape, nor was it nearly as durable and long-lasting as it is today. Early rubber was very sticky in hot weather and became inflexible when it was subjected to cold weather. It could easily fall apart and/or snap if the temperature conditions weren't appropriate or ideal. In the 1800's, Charles Goodyear was credited with discovering the vulcanization process. Vulcanization is the process of heating rubber with sulfur. This transforms sticky raw rubber to form a pliable material that makes rubber a much better candidate for tire material.
Later in rubber development, tires were made out of solid rubber. These tires were strong, absorbed shocks and resisted cuts and abrasions. However, some of the problems with the solid rubber tire was that they were very heavy, expensive and did not provide a smooth ride. Even today, there are several types of tires that are made of solid rubber which allows for resilient tires that resist cuts and abrasions.
The next advancement in the tire industry was the invention of the pneumatic rubber tire. The pneumatic rubber tire uses rubber and enclosed air to reduce vibration and improve traction. The air filled tired that we use today came early in the life span of tires, but too early as it did not catch on for quite some time. The lighter pneumatic tire provided a much better ride quality, was much lighter and more cost effective to produce than the earlier solid rubber tires.
For much of the early 20th century, most vehicle tires were made up of an inner tube that contained compressed air and an outer casing. The plys were made of rubberized fabric cords that were embedded in the rubber. These tires were known as bias-ply tires. They were named bias ply because the cords in a single ply ran diagonally from the beads on one inner rim to the beads on the other. However, the orientation of the cords is reversed from ply to ply so that the cords crisscross each other. Many of today's classic and/or antique vehicles still use bias-ply tires as do many off-road vehicles.
The first introduced steel-belted radial tires appeared in Europe in the mid 20th century. The radial tires are so named because the ply cords radiate at a 90 degree angle from the wheel rim, and the casing is strengthened by a belt of steel fabric that runs around the circumference of the tire.
The Radial tire has ply cords that are made of nylon, rayon or polyester. The advantages of radial tires is that they typically have longer tread life, better steering and less rolling resistance, which may increase gas mileage of a vehicle. On the other hand, radials have a harder riding quality and are typically very expensive comparative to other types of tires.
One of the major problems with tires that are mounted to a wheel is that the tire can become imbalanced. This imbalance can be caused by a plurality of different factors including uneven wear, driving style, road conditions, weight, camber and a host of others. The imbalance of a tire may cause improper ride quality and can eventually lead to tire blowout. Properly balancing a tire requires that the tire and wheel assembly be removed from the vehicle and a specific machine used to determine if the tire is properly balanced on the wheel. If the tire is improperly balanced, a weight mechanism is attached to the attachment point between the tire and the wheel. The weight mechanism is typically a small metal attachment that is attached to the wheel assembly at a specific point to counteract the balance problem. When a sufficient amount of weight has been applied to the tire/wheel assembly, the tire/wheel assembly may be remounted on the vehicle and normal driving of the vehicle may continue.
Thus a need therefore exists for an improved system for balancing a tire that does not require the addition of elements, such as the weight mechanism to the tire for proper balancing of the tire for a vehicle. The present invention satisfies this need and provides related advantages as well.